Escape from Algonquin (Reawakening 2)
In the servery of the school’s cafeteria, Bruce Pham and Emily Hart sit in the dark, Emily using her cell phone but finding that there isn't any service. Bruce mentions that it's not a good idea to use it, and that the lack of service is likely because of the thick walls of the school. Emily decides to go out into the cafeteria to find out what's going on, despite the Code Red warning, and Bruce's attempts to stop her, she tells him to stay and wait and he nods. Meanwhile, Liam, Leah and Nick leave the room through the window, onto the roof. The three carefully climb over into the next room over which is a French class room and encounter Krista and Mellissa Evans, two seventh graders. The group ponders a way of escape and Liam is reminded of something from his “dream” (in reality, Liam's faded memory of Junior High of the Dead). He opens the door slightly, and everyone believes he is insane. But he walks over silently and throws a basketball down the hallway, the noise attracting the zombies' attention, the zombies ignoring Liam and the others entirely. The group moves through the hallway quickly but quietly and upon entrance to the staircase encounter Bailey, of whom they almost mistake for a zombie. They walk down the staircase but find the exit blocked from the outside by a van and realize their only other option is through the front entrance. The few quickly rush through the first floor that is filled with the undead, but find the main lobby too crowded with the undead and decide to rush in through the gymnasium and escape out the door by the school's servery. Leah sprains her ankle in the process and Liam rushes to her aid, carrying her to the servery until they can figure out a plan for once they escape out the school. Inside the servery, they encounter Bruce, who still is clueless as to the outside situation and the zombies. Leah is shocked and happy to see him, they hug and Leah cries. Liam pauses, remembering Kurt and Kylie and looking back at Leah, Nick, Bailey, Bruce, Krista and Melissa. Liam tries to explain what they had just been through to Bruce. Being the most logical of the bunch, Bruce accepts the possibility of Emily's death and that with Leah's sprained ankle; they wouldn't be able to get very far outside the school with the undead chasing them. Liam and Bruce come to the conclusion that they would need Ibuprofen from the school's main office to help Leah deal with the pain and Bailey volunteers to go with Liam to pick it up. Melissa volunteers as well, but Bruce tells they should sent as few people as possible. Bailey assures Melissa, Krista and the others that she and Liam will be back shortly. Liam and Bailey sneak through the gymnasium quietly, along the edges of the room as to not bump directly into any of the undead. They soon reach the empty office through the crowds and they search through various cupboards, Liam notices a cupboard labelled “Medicines” but it is locked and Bailey cautiously decides to search the now unrecognizable body of the secretary. Finding the key and backing away, Bailey is attacked from behind and bitten in the shoulder by a zombie that approaches from behind her. Liam manages to kill the zombie, unlocks the cupboard and grabs two bottles of the medication and a first aid kit. He then fills a glass of water and gives her a few of the painkillers in an attempt to help her. But Bailey has suffered a very severe wound and tells Liam that he needs to stop being negative and stop hating himself and that he needs to leave her behind because the others are relying on him. She takes one of the pill bottles from his hand and Liam accepts her choice. Leaving the office and heading back to the others. When he arrives back to the servery, he places the medication on the counter and tosses Bruce the first aid kit. He sighs heavily before walking over to Leah and hugging her. When Krista asks where Bailey is, there is only silence from Liam. Krista begins to break down into tears in loss of her friend; Melissa lets Krista cry into her shoulder to avoid making much noise that would attract the undead. Bruce shakes his head in sadness and disappointment and walks over to the counter and is suddenly grabbed by two hands that burst through the thin metal shutters of the servery window. Liam tries to pull him from the undead grasp, but it's no use as a whole swarm of undead gather around. Bruce tells Liam to leave him and get the others out of the school. While the zombies are distracted by Bruce, Liam and the others escape through the back staircase into the yard of the school. In the staircase, the group comes across Kyle. Who is well aware of the zombies and had survived using a broken pair of scissors. Kyle offers each of them a piece of gum, Liam however refuses. Kyle approaches Liam and asks if he had asked Leah out yet. Liam changes the conversation and asks Kyle how he managed to survive and learns from him that there are other survivors scattered throughout the school and that through careful observation of the undead, they hunt people by sound and smell. This confuses Liam at first, remembering how he and the others had managed to walk past the undead. Kyle explains that the zombies are in fact “dead”, but only by a bit, and that the smell of early decay and Liam's very poor hygiene are remarkably similar, making the undead ignore Liam and those in close proximity to him. This makes Liam partially believe that Kurt and Bailey's deaths were his fault. The group decides to head out the back. However, when they do, Leah is distressed to find Kylie is nowhere to be found and begins to breakdown in tears, but Liam supports her. Promising that they didn't see Kylie die, and she is probably still alive and holed up with the other survivors Kyle had mentioned. While Melissa comforts a still distraught Krista, Nick brings up the idea of heading to the nearby variety store to pack up on supplies and escape the city. Liam agrees and the few head the general direction of the store. Eventually arriving, the group finds the store abandoned and each grab as many random items as possible. Liam and the others decide they should only grab as much as they will be willing to carry. Upon exiting the store, the group is notified by Kyle that he has decided to stay in the neighborhood and won't be accompanying them out of the city. The group all pay their respects to Kyle and wish him best. Most notably; Liam, Leah and Nick. Liam and the others head off on their way, but not before Kyle is confronted by a mysterious girl whom he is well aware was following them.